Edmonton comedy
Darcy Ropchan
Gateway Staff
Feb 01, 2012
It’s Monday night and the room is more than three-quarters empty. The walls are adorned with signed pictures of famous comedians who have packed the house. But on this night the laughs are few and far between and the audience shifts uncomfortably in their seats after each of one of Matt Lisac’s punch lines. But it’s not for lack of humour on his part, or any of the other comic’s that were on before him.
“This is a good number tonight,” says Lisac, referring to the number of audience members in attendance. ”Usually we get about 20 people. And everyone is pretty spread out, so nobody feels comfortable laughing.”
Lisac is performing at open mic night at The Comic Strip. Tucked between two chain restaurants in the middle of Bourbon Street in West Edmonton Mall, the comedy club is anything but a hidden gem.
Just like all the comics before him, Lisac barrels through a five minute set full of witty observations about his life. All comics are prodded off stage by a red light that indicates when their time is up. Some jokes get a response; others
don’t. It doesn’t bother Lisac — it’s the nature of the craft.
“When you start out, you don’t get a lot of laughs, so after a year of not getting a lot of laughs, you’re just desperate for people to like you so it’s hard to stick with a bit where the audience clearly doesn’t like it.”
Edmonton might not be the premiere name on the comedy circuit. The frozen heart of Oil Country is the festival city, but metropolises like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver tend to get the spotlight when it comes comedy on the international stage. But if you ask the comedians who are currently working the circuit, and if you know where to look, it’ll become obvious that Edmonton is one of the most vibrant cities in Canada for the comedic arts.
“I’d say that Edmonton’s comedy scene is one of the better ones, definitely in the prairies, honestly in the country,” says Rapid Fire Theater artistic director Amy Shostak.
Rapid Fire has been a fixture on the Edmonton comedy scene for 31 years. Launched in 1981, the company has been the premiere destination for theatresports and improvisational comedy in Edmonton, and is home to the largest Improv festival in Canada: Improvaganza. This company has helped catapult local comedians into stardom, like Nathon Fillion, Ron Pederson and Josh Dean.
Shostak laments that the lure of cities like Toronto sweep away some of Rapid Fire’s most talented improvisers.
But while some may see competing with big cities as a challenge, Shostak sees as an advantage. As opposed to Toronto, where there are countless improv companies, Rapid Fire is one of the few places in town to perform improv.
It allows their performers to innovate and share their ideas from inside the company, eliminating the urge for them to branch out independently. This constant creative evolution is what keeps Rapid Fire fresh, funny and entertaining for audiences.
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